180 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
we purchased a vessel for eight thousand rupees,, 
about eight hundred pounds, and changed her Dutch 
name of Yong Yrouw Jacomina to that of the 
Cornwallis. She was a sloop of eighty tons bur- 
then. 
We now changed our minds of going up the Red Sea, 
on account of rumours that the plague was raging, and 
shaped our course towards the Persian Gulf. The 
morning was beautiful, and as we passed gently up 
the coast with a light breeze, the distant mountains of 
Travancore rose majestically above the level coun- 
try with a grand and imposing magnificence. For 
miles we found the water covered with a thick, tawny 
scum, which, upon examination, appeared to be com- 
posed of very minute leaves, of oblong shape and 
yellowish hue. We coasted for thirty days, but with- 
out making much progress, and our daily amuse- 
ment was catching dolphins, which abounded, and 
afforded us excellent sport ; though, when caught, they 
are no great delicacy even at sea, where fish is gene- 
rally a treat. 
Cocoa-nut trees grow in great abundance upon this 
coast, and are valuable property to the poorer natives, 
who obtain from them sundry necessaries, and sell the 
nuts at a good profit. This tree supplies them with 
toddy — an exudation of sap produced by making an 
incision in the trunk, from which many pints drop 
in the course of one night. It is sweet, and exceed- 
ingly agreeable when taken before sunrise ; but after 
it has been allowed to ferment, a strong spirit is dis- 
engaged, which the poor natives drink in great quan- 
tities : it therefore finds a ready sale. 
